Elderly residents in west London were treated to an early Christmas dinner complete with all of the trimmings, courtesy of Hounslow and Richmond firefighters.

The Christmas party for residents of Richmond, Kingston and Hounslow was held at Heston Fire Station on Sunday (December 10) and included a Christmas sing song, a raffle provided by the local Tesco and a Christmas feast cooked and dished up by local firefighters.

The fire station teamed up with Contact the Elderly which is a national charity aiming to combat loneliness and social isolation experienced by thousands of people aged over 75 who live alone.

One of the ways the charity does this is by organising monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties for small groups.

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She added: "The fact that Heston Fire Station opened up their doors for Christmas dinner was a true treat for the older people we support at Contact the Elderly, and allowed our dedicated volunteers to have a bit of fun too.

Firefighters were on hand to dish up the dinner (Image: Hounslow Fire)

"The difference events like this can make to the lives of older people serve as a reminder of the importance of supporting older people who may suffer from loneliness in our communities, not only at Christmas, but all year round."

One of guests at the party, Kathy, said: "It’s the best Christmas I’ve had in years!"

She went home with a hamper full of goodies presented by Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Sue Sampson.

Local resident Kathy with Mayor of Hounslow, Cllr Sue Sampson and members of London Fire Brigade (Image: Contact the Elderly)

London Fire Brigade 's borough commander for Hounslow, Phil Morton, said: "This event really highlights the role of firefighters in the community and shows how we can support people by opening our doors to the public.

"It was great for the station to be filled with visitors on Sunday and we really enjoyed entertaining our group of guests.

"We would like to say thank you to all the volunteers from the charity for all the hard work they given to support older people throughout the year, all the firefighters who put on an amazing event and Tesco for donations of food and gifts."

Contact the Elderly is urging anyone who would like to volunteer with the charity in Hounslow, Richmond or Kingston, to contact them for free on 0800 716543, or head to their website .

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